My interests in both mathematics and history led me to another interest in codebreaking and its role in WWII. I’ve done a lot of reading on the subject and have even taught some courses. The coming of December 7 (75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor) reminded me of something I learned along the way, and I’d like to tell you this moving story. 
 Mitsuo Fuchida was the commander of the air forces and the lead pilot for the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. When he saw that they were achieving complete surprise in the attack he gave the famous radio signal (the first break of radio silence) “Tora! Tora! Tora!”. You may have seen the movie of the same name. He soon played the same role on a very destructive attack on Darwin, Australia. He was set to lead the air forces against Midway, but had shipboard surgery for appendicitis and was on the bridge of the carrier Akagi when it was bombed and sunk by the Americans. He was burned and suffered two broken legs; although he recovered, he was forced to spend the rest of the war as a staff officer. After the war he returned to his home village and became a farmer.

 While he was never accused of a war crime, Fuchida was called several times to testify at the war crimes trials. Many of the charges concerned the treatment of prisoners of war, and Fuchida felt these were unfair. Like most Japanese he felt that it was a disgrace to be taken prisoner, and that prisoners were worthy only of scorn. He was convinced that all nations treated POWs poorly, and to investigate this he interviewed Japanese soldiers who had been imprisoned in the United States. All said that confinement was not pleasant, but none reported ill treatment or abuse. On the positive side several of the men spoke of the many kindnesses of Peggy Covell. She was an eighteen year old volunteer social worker at a POW camp/hospital in Utah. They said that she seemed willing to help the prisoners in any way, always with a cheerful manner. Finally, one of the men asked her why she was there. She responded that it was because the Japanese had killed her parents, who were missionaries. She said that she was certain that they had forgiven their executioners, and she felt that her Christian faith required her to do the same. Fuchida was perplexed when he heard the story, because he had been taught to take revenge on his enemies, not to forgive them.

 Shortly after hearing about Peggy Covell, Fuchida heard the story of Jacob DeShazer. DeShazer was a crew member of one of the B-25 bombers in Doolittle’s raid on Tokyo in early 1942. The bombers took off from the aircraft carrier Hornet, bombed Tokyo, and then tried to land in China, hopefully in Allied territory. DeShazer, however, was captured and was in a Japanese POW camp for the rest of the war. He was abused, tortured and almost starved to death, but somehow he survived. While a captive, he had a three week turn to read the camp’s only Bible, and as a result became a Christian. After the war he decided that as a Christian, he had to forgive and love his enemies. He did just that becoming a missionary to post-war Japan and espousing a Gospel of love and mercy. Fuchida was again perplexed; this was foreign to his Japanese military culture.

 Fuchida purchased a Bible and started reading it while at his farm. One day he read the story of the crucifixion, and Luke 23:34 made a big impression on him: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” He finally understood the actions of Covell and DeShazer and he at that moment became a Christian. He went on to become a Christian evangelist preaching in Japan, the United States and Europe. He appeared at several Billy Graham rallies.

 If you want to learn more about Mitsuo Fuchida’s story, read the book God’s Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor by Gordon Prange. If you want to read the scripture Fuchida was reading when he became a Christian, read Luke 23: 32-43, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Jim

Today’s reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2023:32-43